HPE is paring down its software holdings, including analytical database software in the Vertica line and other big data tools. A sale to Micro Focus is due to close next year, leaving users in some limbo for now.

Vertica 8.0 expands the analytical database's support for Kafka, Spark and Hadoop. That's an important step, as the Hewlett Packard Enterprise technology tries to compete in a field of diverse data tools.

New technology is supposed to eliminate problems. With data isolation, new business tools are only making the longstanding issue worse. Companies are amassing on-premises tools and cloud applications. And those cloud apps come in many varieties: ...